When maestro's like Vishal Bhardwaj (Music Director) and Gulzar (Lyricist) are at the very helm of affairs for any project, expectations are bound to be sky scraping from the soundtrack but "Ek Thi Daayan" as the name suggests belongs to a horror genre which in many ways limits the expectations of the more conventional music lovers. Also on the other hand the 'horror' genre opens the gate for innovations and some 'out-of-the-ordinary' stuff is definitely on the cards for this one. With five originals, let's check out what these magicians have in it for us this time!

The soundtrack opens with the unusual sounding "Yaaram" that has Gulzar written all over it and is majestically sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Clinton Cerejo. It starts with an unplugged feel with guitar strums and the sugary, soulful voice of Sunidhi, as one gets involved in the song, there and then Gulzar captivates the listeners mind with some very simple yet extraordinary words that instantly connects. The track unfolds like a storyline and brings forward how a girl is ready to go to any extent for her lover (the way she sings: "Peeche Peeche Din Bhar Ghar, Daftar Mein Leke Chalenege Hum, Tumhari Filey, Tumhari Diary, Gaadi Ki Chaabiya, Tumhari Ainakey, Tumhara Laptop”), suddenly the song changes tempo and the 'Dil' loop signifies that Vishal Bhardwaj exists in the song, WoW! Moving through the soft interludes, Clinton makes his entry and sings with such ease that makes one fall in love with the song in just few hearings. The lyrics are what make this one very special, a rarity today that such songs are composed where each and every word deserves a special attention and blows you inside out. Don't dare miss the creativeness; First Class, Delicious and What Not!!

A Vishal Bhardwaj soundtrack is incomplete without Sukhwinder Singh (a must), Rekha Bhardwaj (a must) and Suresh Wadkar (mostly), when these three artists joins in for a song, one expects something special. "Totey Ud Gaye" starts with electric guitar strums and as Suresh Wadkar starts off, one gets a heard before feeling of some other VB song. Keeping that aside, as the name suggests, the song is inclined towards a humour genre where Gulzar effortlessly writes some stylish lyrics and surely will be an interesting and super-fun watch on-screen. The last one minute marks the entry o Sukhwinder Singh with some Punjabi lyrics, as an audio alone; the song doesn't impresses very much!

"Kaali Kaali” by Clinton Cerejo is haunting from the very onset with some extravagant use of piano, violin and guitar and straight away lands into the so called territory of Mr.A.R.Rahman. Clinton creates his own aura around this love song with Gulzar's heart-melting poetry that reminds me of the days of 'Saathiya'. The first interlude sees a loop of 'Kaali Kaali Aankhon Ka, Kaala Kaala Jaadu Hai' with some brilliant orchestra in the background. The second interlude is a musical treat with some pure orchestra that is a very rare thing to hear in a soundtrack now-a-days, also the way the vocals fades out at the end with the piano still going and slowly fading out is unique in its own way. Masterpiece!

Now here comes the 'Daayan' song, "Lautungi Main" which surely marks the theme of the movie. Scary, Dark and a perfect song for Rekha Bhardwaj who with her renditions takes it to entirely new heights. Worth a hear which would be a scary watch on screen.

Overall, the soundtrack lives up to the expectations that one has from a Vishal-Gulzar soundtrack. High on poetry, movie oriented situational tracks and on top of that some melodious tunes. With only five tracks, "Ek Thi Daayan" is certainly one of those soundtracks which will enjoy a long shelf life albeit given some time to grow. 'Yaaram' and 'Totey Ud Gaye' on one hand attracts every listeners attention whilst 'Kaali Kaali' and 'Sapna Re Sapna' caters to the segment of pure music lovers far away from the item numbers that dominates almost every soundtrack today. A Musical Delight!